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Aim: To evaluate our experience with emphysematous pyelonephritis in a tertiary care facility and to describe our approach. Study design: Cross-sectional retrospective study Place and duration of study: Dept of Urology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2020. Methodology: Thirty six patients who died of emphysematous pyelonephritis out of the 976 patients and between 34-82 years were enrolled. Used classification systems include Wan and Huang. We examined potential predictive indicators for mortality as well as the clinical and treatment characteristics of these patients. Results: There were 2.27 female for every male. Poor prognosis is correlated with advanced grade. The biggest number of unfavourable prognostic variables is accounted for by deranged HbA1C 27.8% and advanced grades 33.3%. However, DIC causing thrombocytopenia 13.9% and hypotensive shock 13.9% are significant causes of mortality in emphysematous pyelonephritis. The low protein content 11.1% has the lowest mortality risk. The most frequent clinical signs were tachycardia in 14, fever in 9, pyuria in 8 and flank pain in 5 patients. Conclusion: Advanced Huang and Tseng Classification grade is the principal reason for death in our study, followed by shock, hypoprotenemia, DIC-induced thrombocytopenia, and elevated HbA1C levels. Keywords: Emphysematous pyelonephritis, Diabetes, Prognostic factor

This study examines the causal effect of a one-day intervention based on motivation, information, knowledge and role modelling on entrepreneurial attitude, entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial implementation intentions in a field experiment. A pre-test post-test design was used (N = 34) with 17 potential entrepreneurs in each group (control and experiment). The pre-test and post-test scores of experiment group allowed the construction of latent change model which was tested by using multivariate linear regressions in partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrated a significant and positive effect of intervention on entrepreneurial attitude, which in turn increased entrepreneurial implementation intentions through entrepreneurial intention. To the best of researchers’ knowledge, the study is the first to simultaneously examine the causal effect of intervention on entrepreneurial attitude and the effect of resultant change in entrepreneurial attitude on entrepreneurial implementation intentions through entrepreneurial intention. This is first attempt to study the effect of intervention beyond entrepreneurial intention and to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial implementation intentions. Theoretical implication of the study is that entrepreneurial intention mediates the effect of entrepreneurial attitude on entrepreneurial implementation intentions. Whereas the practical implication of the study is that youth graduating from universities and colleges can be made prefer entrepreneurship over wage employment through short interventions. Limitations have been discussed and future recommendations have been proposed.

Anti N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis is new entity discovered over a decade. It is a type of autoimmune encephalitis characterized by a sequential onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms especially in the young population. Early diagnosis and treatment lead to better outcome and may prevent permanent neurological deficit or even death. Most patients respond well to first-line treatment and the resection of tumors associated with the disease. Here we present a case, which based on radiological findings, was diagnosed as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), and was started on anticoagulation. Failure to respond to treatment and development of new movement abnormalities warranted for further investigations and he was found to have anti-NMDA receptor antibody positive in cerebrospinal fluid. Due to overlapping symptoms of CVST and encephalitis, high incidence of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in this part of the world, and radiological findings, was initially thought to have CVST which was also confirmed on brain imaging. Lack of consent by the parents for a lumbar puncture delayed the definitive diagnosis. Patient developed movement disorder suggestive of autoimmune encephalitis, and this time after extensive counselling, when the cerebrospinal fluid was send for work up, it showed a positive anti-NMDA receptor antibody. He was promptly started on plasmapheresis after which patient had dramatic improvement both in movement abnormalities and neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Purpose Corruption and money laundering (ML) are severe concerns for both developing and developed countries. According to international organizations, such as Transparency International, the Basel Institute on Governance and the International Country Risk Guide, corruption and ML exist in every country. This research aims to investigate the impact of corruption and ML on the loan portfolio quality of banks. Design/methodology/approach From 2013 to 2019, this study used the panel data of 132 countries, including 87 highly corrupt and 45 least corrupt countries: the fixed effect and random effect econometric regression techniques for data analysis. Additionally, this study used the generalized methods of moment technique to check the result’s robustness. Findings This study shows that corruption and ML have diverse relationships with non-performing loans in highly corrupt and low corrupt countries. It is potentially because of the differences in the regulatory structure of a highly corrupt and least corrupt environment. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt that provides a unique perspective on corruption, ML and its effect on the loan’s portfolio quality of banks. Furthermore, this study suggests that governments in highly corrupt environments develop robust anti-corruption and anti-ML regulations.

Multisystem involvement has not been uncommon in SARS-CoV-2 infection. There has been reports of devastating neurological complication both during the infection and after the virus clears out. Here we present a rare case of sino-orbital mucormycosis, diagnosis of which was confirmed only on histopathology. Our patient presented with headache, 18 days after her recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection and was extensively worked up for the cause. Initially she was treated as a severe sinusitis but failure to response to antibiotics treatment warranted for further investigations and imaging. Our patient had to undergo right eye enucleation plus debridement under general anesthesia under the care of ENT, Ophthalmology, Neurosurgery and Neurology. She is currently on anti-fungal treatment as advised by infectious disease department.

Background: Renal transplant is definitive treatment for chronic renal disease. Renal transplant involves three anastomosis, renal artery, vein and ureter. Some surgeons prefer urinary stenting for prevention of urinary complication like urinary leakage, while others do not. Still there is controversy whether to use or not use intraoperative stenting. The purpose of this study is to share experience of renal transplant with and without stenting. Objective: To compare the outcome of renal transplant with and without intraoperative placement of Double J Stent Study Design: Comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Urology and Kidney Transplantation, Shaikh Zaid Hospital, Lahore from 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2015. Methodology: One hundred and eight patients with chronic kidney disease had renal transplant. Randomly, 54 patients transplant was done with stenting and in 54 patients transplant was done without stenting. The patients were followed up for presence of urinary leakage. Results: Among 54 renal transplants with stenting, no urinary leakage was found (0%), while in 54 patients without stent placement, urinary leakage was observed in 2 (3.7%) patients. (p=0.153, i.e. >0.05) Conclusion: Ureteric stenting is not mandatory for renal transplantation. Frequency of urinary leakage among patients with renal transplant with stent was low while no leakage was seen with stenting. Difference in rate of urinary leakage with and without stenting was not statistically significant. Keywords: Live related renal transplant; Intraoperative DJ stenting; Urinary leakage

Since the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in China in late 2019, scientists are striving hard to explore non-toxic, viable anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds or medicines. We determined In vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of oral formulations (syrup and capsule)of an Iodine-complex (Renessans). First, cell cytotoxicity of Renessans on the Vero cells was determined using MTT assay. Afterwards, the antiviral activity of Renessans was determined using viral inhibition assays and TCID50. For this, nontoxic concentrations of the Renessans were used. The results showed that Renessans is nontoxic to the cells up to 50 µg/mL. At 1.5 µg/mL concentration, SARS-CoV-2 production was significantly reduced to 101.43 TCID50 and 101.58 TCID50 for the syrup and capsule, respectively, as compare to virus infected control cells 106.08 TCID50 and we found the dose dependent inhibition of virus replication in the presence of Renessans. Renessans inhibited SARS-CoV-2 with an EC50 value of 0.425 µg/mL and 0.505 µg/mL for syrup and capsule, respectively. Furthermore, there was no virus detected at concentration of 50 µg/mL of Renessans. This study indicates that Renessans, containing iodine, have potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which needs to be further investigated in human clinical trials.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the highly prevalent chronic diseases that can impact the life greatly, not only by its own disease process, but also due to wide range of other social and psychological effects on one’s life. Generalized anxiety disorder is one of these complications, but is highly under rated. Aim: To determine the frequency of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among cases with Diabetes Mellitus presenting to out-patient Diabetes clinic of Lahore General Hospital, Lahore. Place and duration of study: This study was carried out in the Department of Medicine, Lahore General Hospital, Lahore from 10-06-18 to 10-06-19. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study. The cases with both gender and age range of 30 to 60 years with known history of DM for at least one year were included. Anxiety was labelled on the basis of GAD scale and score of 5 or more was labelled as yes. Results: In this study there were total 192 cases of DM and out of them 98 (51.04%) were males. The mean age of the subjects was 51.20±8.16 years and mean HbA1c level was 8.78±2.34. There were 127 (66.15%) cases with type II DM, and only 28(14.58%) had controlled DM. Generalized anxiety disorder was seen in 72 (37.50%) of cases. GAD was significantly high in females affecting 44 out of 94 cases with p= 0.03. The cases with duration of DM of 5 or more years had GAD significantly high (64 out of 120) cases with p= 0.01. The cases who were un-employed had significantly higher number of cases suffering from GAD; affecting 58 out of 106 with p= 0.01. Conclusion: GAD is common and seen in almost more than every 3rd case suffering from DM and those with DM for 5 years or more, un-employed or those who were widow or divorced had it significantly high. Keywords: DM, GAD, HbA1c

In this study, polyamide-6/chitosan blend dense membranes were prepared using solution casting technique. The membranes were then characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, TGA, SEM analysis and tensile testing. FTIR analysis confirmed hydrogen bonding between chitosan and polyamide. TGA analysis proved that all the membranes maintained thermal stability up to 370 °C. SEM analysis exhibited compact and dense structure of the membranes. The tensile properties of the membranes improved with the addition of hydrophilic chitosan. The membranes were then characterized for desalination properties using 2000 ppm NaCl solution by state-of-the-art dead-end membrane desalination equipment at 20 bar operating pressure. The effect of membrane thickness was then studied, and the best thickness of the membrane was determined for optimum water flux and salt rejection. The effect of chitosan concentration was also studied, and the best concentration was determined for optimum desalination properties. It has been found that the membrane having 200 micron thickness and 3 wt.% chitosan demonstrated optimum desalination properties that is 75% salt rejection and water flux of 1.52 kg/h.m2. It has been found that maximum salt rejection was achieved with 2 wt.% chitosan blend membrane and maximum permeate flux was achieved with 4 wt.% chitosan blend membrane.

Background: In recent years, the occurrence and fate of environmental pollutants has been recognized as one of the emerging issues in environmental chemistry. A survey documented a wide variety of these pollutants, which are often detected in our environment and these are a major cause of shortened life spans and global warming. These pollutants include toxic metal, pesticides, fertilizers, drugs, and dyes released into the soil and major water bodies. The presence of these contaminants causes major disturbance in the balance of the eco-system. To tackle these issues, many technological improvements are made to detect minute contaminations. The latest issue being answered by scientists is the use of green nanomaterials as sensors which are economical, instant and give much better results at low concentrations and can be used for the field measurements resulting in no dangerous by-product that could lead to more environmental contamination. Nanomaterials are known for their wide bandgap, enhanced physical, and optical properties with the option of tuneability as per need, by optimizing certain parameters. They are proved to be a good choice for analytical/ optical sensors with high sensitivity. Objective: This review holds information about multiple methods that use green nanomaterials for the analytical assessment of environmental pollutants. UV-Vis spectrophotometry and electrochemical analysis using green and reproducible nanomaterials are the major focus of this review article. To date, there are a number of spectrophotometric and electrochemical methods available that have been used for the detection of environmental pollutants such as toxic metals, pesticides, and dyes. Conclusion: The use of nanomaterials can drastically change the detection limits due to having a large surface area, strong catalytic properties, and tunable possibility. With the use of nanomaterials, lower than the marked limit of detection and limit of quantification were seen when compared with previously reported work. The used nanomaterials could be washed, dried, and reused, which makes the methods more proficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly.

Background: Being a common congenital urogenital disorder, hypospadias is mostly treated by Snodgrass urethroplasty; urethrocutaneous fistula is the most frequent complication. Objective: To assess the outcomes of Snodgrass Urethroplasty when Buck’s (external spermatic) fascia was used with Dartos fascia to interpose between the neourethra and skin and to compare the results when only Dartos fascia was applied. Study Design: Prospective comparative study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital & Institute of Child Health, Lahore Pakistan from 1st September 2018 to 31st August 2019 Methodology: Seventy four patients who were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 who underwent Snodgrass urethroplasty with dartos fascia as intermediate layer; while both dartos & buck’s fascia was used in Group 2. Post-operative results were compared in terms of urethrocutaneous fistula, meatal stenosis and wound dehiscence. Results: Eleven patients with urethrocutaneous fistula, the rate of urethrocutaneous fistula was significantly less in the Buck’s and Dartos group [2(5.4%) versus 9(4.3%) in the dartos only group; p=0.022]. 4 patients presented with meatal stenosis; 3 (8.1%) from dartos group and 1 (2.7%) from dartos and buck’s group. 5 patients presented with Wound dehiscence; 4 (10.8%) from control group and 1 (2.7%) from experimental group, both of which were not statistically significant (p-value 0.304 and 0.165 respectively). Conclusion: The use of Buck’s Fascia in addition to Dartos Fascia as an interpositional layer in hypospadias repair bears immense role in the prevention of the most common complication i.e. urethrocutaneous fistula. Keywords: Buck’s fascia, Dartos fascia, Hypospadias, Urethrocutaneous fistula

Objective: To compare the outcome and complications of standard PCNL with tubeless PCNL in terms of analgesia requirement, incidence of infection, post-operative perinephric urinary collection and post-operative hospital stay. Study Design: Randomized control trial Place and Duration of Study: Department of Urology, Lahore General Hospital Lahore from 1st March 2018 to 30th April 2019. Methodology: Ninety six patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were randomly categorized into 2 groups; Group A where patients will undergo standard PCNL and Group B where patients will undergo tubeless PCNL. Post-operatively, patients were assessed for the requirement for analgesia, rate of infection, post-operative urinary leakage and hospital stay. Results: The mean duration of surgery had no significant difference between the two treatment groups; tubeless group was on average 51 minutes while the standard PCNL group was 55 minutes. No significant difference was observed in reduction of hematocrit values between the groups (4.9% vs 4.2%). Transfusions were not required in either group. The average post-operative duration of hospital stay was 2 days in group 1 and group 2 was 3 days with P

Current study reports the adsorption of acephate (organo-phosphorus pesticide) onto modified adsorbent and its electrochemical regeneration under various electrochemical conditions including curren...

Antibacterial products have paid much more attraction all over global world. In this study, a novel and economical rout has been studied for antibacterial product, ultrafine nylon-6 (NY-6 NFS) nanofibers impregnated into garlic sour was synthesized by electrospinning method. The morphology of impregnated nanofiber mats was characterized by electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyze the chemical interaction of Nylon-6 nanofiber mats and garlic sour. The antibacterial activities of impregnated garlic sour samples G-1, G-2 and G-3 were evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by using disc diffusion method. It was found that the garlic sour has played a vital role for antibacterial activity. The nanofiber mats impregnated into garlic sour showed excellent antibacterial activity. It was observed that the antimicrobial effect for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was more than 99 %. The excellent hydrophobic property which revealed water contact angle was examined with dropping method and TGA were examined excellent thermal degradation rate of NY-6 NFS and impregnated garlic sour samples. NY-6 NFS showed good mechanical strength according to ASTM D-638 standard. The obtained results indicate that the NY-6 NFS impregnated in garlic sour is a promising antibacterial product that can be utilized as antibacterial wound dressing.

The use of organic solvents for the preparation of nanofibers are challenged due to their volatile and hazardous behavior. Recently deep eutectic solvents (DES) are widely recognized as non-volatile and non-hazardous solvents which never been utilized directly for nanofabrication via electrospinning. Here, we present the preparation of Zein nanofibers using deep eutectic solvents (DES-Zein). The DES-Zein nanofibers were produced at an optimized polymer concentration of 45% (w/w) with pH 7.3 and electroconductivity 233 mS cm−1. DES-Zein nanofibers showed aligned to tweed like cedar leaf morphology tuned by varying the spreading angle from 0° to 90°. In contrast to hydrophobic conventional Zein nanofibers, DES-Zein nanofibers showed super hydrophilic character and about 200 nm finer average diameter. The proposed method of preparing Zein nanofibers using DES opens a new door to continuous electrospinning with tunable morphology, having potential to be used for environmental and biomedical applications.

Methodology: It was a cross sectional Analytical study conducted at Department of Radiology AL RAZI HOSPITAL MM ALAM LAHORE. From 1st July 2019 to 31st December 2019.The 172 subjects were selected of history and clinical examination and suspicion of head injuries requiring head CT scan evaluation. Subjects included both male and female gender age over 10 years and less than 70 years were selected. Contraindication to CT imaging and pregnant females were excluded. Patients were examined using 64 Slices dual source SIMENS CT machine. All the information of patient were noted on a specifically designed for this purpose.Results: Mean age of patient was 36.87± 13.02 years. Most frequent age group was 15-30 years having 75(42.8%) subjects. There were 125(71.4%) male and 50(28.5%) females in the study respectively. There were 126 true positive, 12 false positive, 11 false negative and 17 true negative cases. This study revealed computed tomography sensitivity (72%) specificity (94%) diagnostic accuracy is (97.1%), Positive predictive value is (97.98%) and negative predictive value is (71.69%).Conclusions: It was concluded that Computed tomography is a useful diagnostic tool after clinical evaluation in patients imaging for the diagnosis of subdural and epidural hematomas in patients of road traffic accident.

この博士論文は、次の学術雑誌論文を一部に使用しています。 / Nanomaterials 11(2) :531(2021); doi:10.3390/nano11020531 © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. / Fibers and polymers (inprint) :(2021); doi: / Materials Chemistry and Physics 255 :123614(2020); doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.123614. © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. / Journal of Applied Polymer Science 138(46) :51381(2021); doi:10.1002/app.51381 © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC., Thesis, HUSSAIN NADIR. Study on development of highly conductive materials via electroless deposition technique for advance wearable devices （先端ウェアラブル機器のための無電解蒸着技術を通じた高伝導性材料の開発に関する研究）. 信州大学, 2021, 博士論文. 博士（工学）, 甲第769号, 令和03年09月30日授与.

Herein, we report ultrasonic-assisted (UA) dyeing of silk fibroin nanofibers (SFNF) using acid dyes for the very first time. SFNF has been intensively investigated for various textile industries for different applications such as smart wearables, surgical gowns and advanced apparels. UA dyeing at room temperature resulted in enhanced color yield with production time saving up to 60% in comparison to conventional dyeing, which ultimately showed saving of 62.28% electrical and 64.28% thermal energy consumption. SEM images revealed smooth morphology and lesser shrinkage before and after UA dyeing of SFNF. WAXD, wicking and water contact angle showed amorphous behavior and enhanced wettability of UA-dyed SFNF. Chemical changes of dyed SFNF were confirmed using FTIR and XPS. The proposed UA dyeing of SFNF has a great energy-saving potential as well as high production rate, and therefore can be utilized for advanced apparels.

This study explores whether voluntary delisting of companies from stock exchanges can be predicted by the DuPont Model. ROE (Return on Equity), NPM (Net Profit Margin), ATO (Assets Turnover) and LM (Leverage Multiplier) of 13 voluntarily delisted firms from Karachi Stock Exchange were compared with same ratios of respective sectors for 6 years preceding the delistment year by applying t-test. Difference of means of DuPont ratios between voluntarily delisted firms and their respective sectors were not found statistically significant. Thus, ROE, NPM, ATO and LM, which are the measures of profitability, asset utilization (efficiency) and leverage respectively, are not the significant predictors of voluntary delisting decisions in Pakistan. To the best of researchers knowledge, this study is first attempt to differentiate between voluntarily delisted and listed companies on the basis of DuPont Model.

Since many years there is an augmentation in researches about smartphone usage, addiction of smartphone and how smartphone addiction affects the health of users. The smartphone was also used as an aid to learning, but recently it turns out to be contributing negative effects on learning outcomes. This study inquires about the smartphone addiction of international students of Northeast Normal University (NENU). These students come from different nationalities with varied disciplines possessing distinctive attitutes. This research investigates about the differences of smartphone addiction between male and female (gender) students by using the independent sample t-test with unequal sample size. It also explores the differences of smartphone addiction (SA) and subjective wellbeing (SWB) between different age groups using the ANOVA. Correlation and Regression is calculated to find the relationship and impact of two variables (SA and SWB) on each other. The age group 1 has more SA and lower SWB, while there is little difference found with different genders.

A proprietary adsorbent material called Nyex 1000 was developed by the Arvia Technology Ltd. (UK based waste water treatment company). Nyex 1000 was being employed for a number of commercial applications dealing with the removal of organic contaminants from industrial effluents. This adsorbent material had small adsorptive capacity. With the aim to address small adsorptive capacity, a new graphite based adsorbent material was developed. The particle design was accomplished through successive chemical, thermal and mechanical treatments of raw graphite material (natural large flake graphite, to be called here as NLFG). The chemical treatment of the NLFG was carried out through electrochemical intercalation using dilute (50%) sulfuric acid in an electrochemical cell. Chemically treated NLFG then went through thermal treatment at 850 °C and followed by mechanical treatments consisting of compression (4536 kgf cm−2) and chopping at 18,000 rpm for 30 s. The developed adsorbent material, (exfoliated compacted graphite, to be called here as ECG) and NLFG were characterized using state of the art techniques including SEM, BET surface area, XRD, Zeta potential, Boehm surface titration, bed electrical conductivity and laser size analysis. The characterization results showed significant increase in internal specific surface area from 1 to 17 m2 g−1. It was attributed to the development of partially porous particle surface verified by SEM results. The XRD, Boehm surface titration, Zeta potential results endorsed the associated chemical and physical changes appeared in the composition of the NLFG as a result of chemical, thermal and mechanical treatments. Adsorption-regeneration studies were conducted using developed ECG and existing Nyex 1000 materials. The pollutants used for adsorption–regeneration studies were acid violet 17, phenol, humic acid, ethane thiol and methyl propane thiol dissolved in aqueous solution. The results were compared and it was found that ECG showed significantly improved adsorption capacity with many folds. Both adsorbent materials, ECG and Nyex 1000 delivered 100% electrochemical regeneration efficiencies.

SARS-CoV-2 infections are transmitted through droplets or through direct contact with secretions from an infected person. The transmission of the virus through tears and other body secretions remains controversial. PCR detection of Covid-19 in the samples/swabs taken from nasopharynx, CSF fluid, and tears, clarifies that the virus may be transmitted through the modes other than aerosol droplets or direct contact. In order to control and prevent this infectious disease, cutting-off the route of transmission will be one of the most important steps. SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected in tears and conjunctival samples of patients. The ocular tropism of Covid-19 is still uncertain but contentious.

Side effects of the drugs’ oral administration led us to examine the possibility of using diclofenac sodium (DLF) in a polymeric drug delivery system based on electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, which can be produced cost-effectively and with good applicability for transdermal treatments. The inclusion of DLF in PAN nanofibers increased the nanofiber diameter from ~200 nm to ~500 nm. This increase can be attributed to the increase in the spinning solution viscosity. FTIR spectra confirm the entrapment of the DLF into the PAN nanofibers. X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the inclusion of the DLF in the PAN nanofibers had caused the misalignment in the polymeric chains of the PAN, thus resulting in a decrease of the peak intensity at 2θ = 17o. The DLF loaded PAN nanofibers were efficient against the gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and gram-negative Escherichia coli (E.coli), with maximum inhibition zone of 16 ± 0.46 mm for E.coli and 15.5 ± 0.28 mm for S. aureus. Good cell viability ~95% for L929 cells in more extended incubation periods was reported. A gradual release of DLF from the PAN nanofiber was observed and can be attributed to the stability of Pan in PBS medium. Cell adhesion micrographs show that cell-cell interaction is stronger than the cell-material interaction. This type of weak cell interaction with the wound dressing is particularly advantageous, as this will not disturb the wound surface during the nursing of the wound.

Water, one of the most priceless sources of life, is becoming dangerously threatened and contaminated due to population growth, industrial development, and climatic variations. The drainage of industrial, farming, and municipal sewage into drinking water sources pollutes the water. The textile processing industry is one of the major consumers of water. Herein, the idea of water-free dyeing of electrospun poly (1, 4-cyclohexane dimethylene isosorbide terephthalate) PICT nanofibers is proposed. For this, two different deep eutectic solvents (DE solvents) were introduced as an alternative to water for the dyeing of PICT nanofibers in order to develop a water-free dyeing medium. For this, C.I. disperse red 167 was used as a model dye to improve the aesthetic properties of PICT nanofibers. PICT nanofibers were dyed by conventional batch dyeing and ultrasonic dyeing methods to investigate the effect of the dyeing technique on color buildup characteristics. Dyeing conditions such as dyeing time, temperature and, dye-concentration were optimized. Morphological and chemical characterization observations revealed a smooth morphology of dyed and undyed PICT nanofibers. The ultrasonically dyed nanofibers showed higher color strength and increased tensile strength compared to conventionally dyed nanofibers. Further, the consumption of electrical and thermal energy was also calculated for both processes. The results confirmed that the ultrasonic dyeing method can save 58% on electrical energy and 25% on thermal energy as compared to conventional dyeing.

Since the emergence of CoVID-19 pandemic in China in late 2019, scientists are striving hard to explore non-toxic, viable anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds or medicines. We determined In Vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of oral formulations (syrup and capsule) of an Iodine-complex (Renessans). A monolayer of vero cells were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in the presence and absence of different concentrations (equivalent to 50, 05 and 0.5 μg/ml of I2) of Renessans. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of each of the formulation was assessed in the form of cell survival, SARS-CoV-2-specific cytopathic effect (CPE) and genome quantization. With varying concentrations of syrup and capsule, a varying rate of inhibition of CPE, cells survival and virus replication was observed. Compared to 0.5 μg/ml concentration of Renessans syrup, 5 and 50 μg/ml showed comparable results where there was a 100% cell survival, no CPEs and a negligible viral replication (ΔCT= 0.11 and 0.13, respectively). This study indicates that Renessans, containing iodine, may have potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which needs to be further investigated in human clinical trials.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious disease of cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals, causing huge economic losses annually worldwide. This disease is endemic in Pakistan where the serotypes of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) are A, O and ASIA-1. At present, trivalent FMDV vaccines are being used to prevent FMD but the current production process is laborious and is unable to fulfill the needs of the meat and dairy industries. To meet the vaccine needs of Pakistan, the conventional method of using adherent cell lines to produce the vaccine could be replaced by suspension cell cultures which produce higher yields in less time and less volume. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate and optimize some of the factors that affect viable cell density and subsequent virus yield. The relationship between the yield of the 146S fraction and the TCID50 of the virus preparations obtained was also evaluated as a mean to control and check the quality of the vaccine product. The results provided optimized conditions for vaccine production using cell suspensions and showed that there was a linear relationship between TCID50 and 146S fraction yield. Either TCID50 or the 146S fraction yield, or both could be used as parameters for quality monitoring during vaccine production. Using TCID50 reduced the number of steps involved in virus production while measuring 146S fraction yield was useful for quality control. However, more studies are required to evaluate the relative effectiveness of vaccines produced by virus cultures using either TCID50 or 146S fraction as quality monitoring tools.

In this work, cellulose acetate (CA) based thin film nanocomposite reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were fabricated using dissolution casting method by optimizing the CA/polyethylene glycol (CA/PEG-400) ratios for improved RO performance. The selectivity of optimized membrane was further enhanced by incorporating TiO2 (0–25 wt.%) nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted to characterize control and modified membranes for the analysis of functional groups, thermal properties, morphology and structural investigation respectively. CP-2 of CA/PEG-400 (80/20) was selected for further modification with TiO2 nanoparticles. The maximum salt rejection (95.4%) was observed for the membrane having 15% TiO2 nanoparticles. Further escalation of TiO2 concentration resulted in the agglomeration of nanoparticles which subsequently decreased the permeation flux. The test results demonstrated that the modified membranes had higher salt rejection and chlorine resistance, lower degradation profile, successful inhibition of Escherichia coli growth and facilitating permeation flux compared to the control membrane.

Desalination method is regarded as a sustainable method to address the severe water scarcity issue from seawater or wastewater. For that purpose, several methods have been used amongst them, radaition can be employed for the modification and the advancement of material properties. Electron beam irradiation has tremendous applicability to modify structure of carbon nanofibers, in order to form suitable defects in the graphitic structure and production of reactive sites. In this work, a series of novel cellulose acetate (CA) membranes were prepared via blending with different concentration of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and irradiated grafted vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNF) with the aim to remove MgSO4 from sea water. The morphology and topography of the VGCNF membranes were observed using SEM and AFM, respectively, which indicated the improved membrane structure, dispersity and surface roughness in the polymer matrix. The experimental data demonstrated that VGCNF grafted membranes have improved permeation flux (48 L/m2 h) and salt rejection (98% MgSO4) compared to the control membrane. More importantly, the thermal stability by TGA revealed that VGCNF4 showed enhanced stability compared to the control membrane. As a result, this study could provide great potential for the removal of salts from sea water.

Novel thin film poly(vinyl alcohol)/chitosan (PVA/CS) based reverse osmosis membranes infused with silane crosslinked tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) were prepared by dissolution casting methodology. The performance characteristics and the scope of the reverse osmosis membranes were explicated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), differential scanning calorimetery (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and reverse osmosis (RO) permeation tests which determined the functional groups and network of covalent crosslinks, thermal properties, morphology, hydrophilicity, structural investigation and RO properties, respectively. It was found that the membrane surface became smoother, more hydrophilic, with improved thermal stability, increased salt rejection and good permeation flux after the appropriate infusion of TEOS. The crosslinked membranes showed more hydrophilicity compared to the uncrosslinked PVCS membrane. The SEM micrographs of membranes revealed dense structure with no mottled surfaces. PVCS-4 showed an optimal flux of 1.84 L/m 2 h and 80% salt rejection that confirmed the selective interaction of TEOS molecules with PVA/CS polymer backbone compared to the pristine (PVCS) membrane. The antibacterial properties of the membranes showed the inhibition of the growth of Escherichia coli successfully.

Introduction: To treat patient with urethral stricture is a challenge for a surgeon. End to end anastomosis and graft of penile pedicle are two methods which are common for treatment of urethral stricture. This study was carried out to determine the outcome of everted end to end anastomosis compared with penile pedicle skin grafting so as to know which one is better of the two and should be offered to patients in future. Objective: To compare the outcome of Everted End to End Anastomosis and Penile Pedicle Skin Graft in management of long strictures to evaluate its post operative complications, hospital stay, and cost. Study was conducted on 70 patients, admitted with stricture urethra from the outpatient department of Urology and referred from emergency of Lahore General Hospital Lahore, Pakistan, starting from 13 October, 2011 to 31st october 2013. Material and method: A thorough history and clinical examination was done. All the patients had retrograde and antigrade urethrogram to make diagnosis with detailed history and Physical examination and routine baseline investigations. The patients were divided in two equal groups. 35 patients in group a received end to end anastomosis, and 35 patients in group B underwent penile pedicle skin grafting. The patients were evaluated for the outcome parameters including infection, re-stricture, urinary stream grading. The data was collected on a specially designed Proforma. Results: The mean age of the patients in group A was 20.60±12.61 years while in group B was 23.61±11.29 year [range 7 -50 years]. All the patients had urinary retention, while other symptoms were seen rarely. The majority of strictures were present at bulbo membranous level 57.1% in one group and 45.7% in other followed by bulbous level among i.e. 31.4% and 34.3% patients in both groups. In patients with end to end anastomosis, urinary stricture occurred in 22.9% patients while in penile pedicle skin graft was seen among 65.7% patients [p < 0.05]. None of the patient had infection. Uroflowmetery was 21.77 + 1.85 ml/sec in group A versus 17.00 + 7.04 mL/sec in group B at 1 year follow up [p < 0.05]. Conclusion: The outcome of everted end to end anastomosis is better than penile pedicle skin graft. So, this technique should be recommended in different settings. Keywords: Everted end to end anastomosis, penile pedicle skin graft; urethral stricture, urinary retention, bulbo membranous.

The removal of toxic heavy metals with nano fibers from the surface and ground water has gained enormous interest in the recent years to improve the quality of water. From these toxic metals, cadmium (Cd) is the most worrisome as it persists in the environment and cannot be broken down into less toxic substances. It has been discharged as a waste from various industrial operations, that is, metal plating, alloying and mining. Cd pollution is particularly concerning in the developing world in that the cadmium waste is not collected separately from general waste, and often ends up in landfills. In our study, Zein nano fibers were prepared via electro spinning technique and then used as an adsorbent material for the Cd ions removal. The electrospun nanofibers were characterized by atomic adsorption spectroscopy, ATR-FTIR and SEM measurements. Different parameters were used in the adsorption processes such as pH, contact time, mass of sheet and cadmium concentration to achieve maximum removal efficiency of cadmium. Hence, the higher cadmium removal efficiency was achieved by 96 % in the sample of 11 mg mass of nanofibers sheet, at Ph-8 and contact time was 30 minutes.

Herein, we prepared three-dimensional artificial blood vessels (ABV) from electrospun pristine Poly (Ethylene-glycol-co-1,4-Cyclohexane di-methylene-co-isosorbide terephthalate) (PEICT), Poly (1, 4 cyclohexane di-methylene-co-isosorbide terephthalate) (PICT) and their blend (BLEND) nanofibers for the first time with three different cross-sectional diameters (0.9, 1.5 and 2.0) mm. Biocompatibility was evaluated by culturing Human Breast Epithelial Cells (MCF-10A) on all samples. Interestingly, collective properties of PICT and PEICT were distinctively imparted onto the surface of BLEND ABVs without reliance upon any special surface treatment. BLEND showed an enhanced wettability and a smooth and compacted morphology making them suitable to hold more (MCF-10A) cells compared to pristine PICT and PEICT. Additionally, BLEND achieved a maximum biodegradation rate as well as the special feature of tensile strength tunability, which reveals its potential and suitability for vascular regeneration and cell culture applications.

Here in, we report a versatile, novel, and easy approach to fabricate highly durable and electrically conductive aramid nanofibers (ANFs). The ANFs were firstly fabricated via electrospinning and afterward, the conductive ANFs were prepared using electroless deposition (ELD) technique. The copper (Cu) metal was used to prepare conductive ANFs due to its significant advantages i.e. conductance. During the ELD process, parameters including time and temperature were studied to optimize proper deposition and performance. The optimized ANFs samples were characterized by FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, XPS, FTIR, TGA, water contact angle, and electrical conductance. Copper (Cu) deposition on ANFs achieved high electrical conductivity. The as ANFs shows good candidate for copper (Cu) deposition and provide good stability in terms of electrical conductance. The as-prepared Cu-ANFs could be used in various applications such as wearable electronics, flexible displays, and energy storage.

Cellulose is one of the most hydrophilic polymers with sufficient water holding capacity but it is unstable in aqueous conditions and it swells. Cellulose itself is not suitable for electrospun nanofibers&rsquo, formation due to high swelling, viscosity, and lower conductivity. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is also super hydrophilic polymer, however it has the same trend for nanofibers formation as that of cellulose. Due to the above-stated reasons, applications of CMC are quite limited in nanotechnology. In recent research, loading of CMC was optimized for electrospun tri-component polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) nanofibers aim at widening its area of applications. PVA is a water-soluble polymer with a wide range of applications in water filtration, biomedical, and environmental engineering, and with the advantage of easy process ability. However, it was observed that only PVA was not sufficient to produce PVA/CMC nanofibers via electrospinning. To increase spinnability of PVA/CMC nanofibers, PVP was selected as the best available option because of its higher conductivity and water solubility. Weight ratios of CMC and PVP were optimized to produce uniform nanofibers with continuous production as well. It was observed that at a weight ratio of PVP 12 and CMC 3 was at the highest possible loading to produce smooth nanofibers.

Water holding capacity becomes essential for hygiene applications including baby diapers. Microfibers of hydrophilic polymers have been useful source for such applications. While, super hydrophilic and stable nanofibers incorporation with functional antibacterial agent are essential to get higher absorption of water along with antimicrobial activity against harmful bacteria. In current work, hydrophobic polymeric nanofibers are transformed to super hydrophilic nanofibers by addition of copper (II) oxide (CuO hereafter) nanoparticles. CuO nanoparticles provided two distinctive properties to existing nanofibers. Firstly, nanofibers surface area was significantly increased, and secondly copper (II) oxide itself is hydrophilic material which imparted hydrophilicity to base polymer. Polyacrylonitrile, crosslinked Polyvinyl Alcohol, and PICT were selected as super hydrophobic polymeric nanofibers. Copper II oxide nanoparticles (same concentration) were added in all polymer solution and electrospun. Surface, morphological, and hydrophilic properties were characterized and it was concluded that copper II oxide is suitable for transforming hydrophobic nanofibers to super hydrophilic nanofibers. Water holding capacity (WHC) was also improved for all prepared nanofiber mats. WHC for PVA/CuO, PAN/CuO, and PICT/CuO were recorded an average of 23 g/g, 21 g/g, and 18 g/g respectively. Combining all useful results from possible characterization of nanofiber mats, it is expected that CuO nanoparticles loaded nanofibers will have potential application as antibacterial, sustainable, and stable replacement of hygiene products.

The study aimed to exploit the energy potential of naturally occurring fuels like Thar Lignite (TL), Sugarcane Bagasse (SB), Cotton Stalks (CS) and synthetic copolymer shoe manufacturing waste Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA). Proximate, ultimate, chemical analysis along with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) were carried out to analyze the compositional and structural differences between the studied fuel samples. Thermochemical decomposition of fuel samples was also evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under dry air conditions. Derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) obtained from TG curves were used to determine the ignition, peak, burnout temperatures along with combustion performance indices. The order of both average and peak rate of conversion (% s−1) was found to be; EVA > SB > CS > TL. Kinetic analysis of the samples was performed using Coats Redfern model. The apparent activation energy ‘Ea’ (kJ mole−1) was in the order of SB = 45.7 > EVA = 36.2 > CS = 36.1 > TL = 23.1. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and ash fusion temperature (AFT) profile analysis of the ash samples was also performed to investigate the possible deposit formation propensity of post combustion residue products, alkali and slagging indices. SB showed the highest propensity towards slagging deposit formations with the order SB > CS > TL > EVA.

Removal of heavy metal ions is vital in water purification system. In this report we designed a unique method to crosslink polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofiber to enhance its adsorption capacity against metal ions like Copper (Cu2+) and Lead (Pb2+). PVA nanofibers were crosslinked by conventional method using glutaraldehyde vapors and also by solution method (self-designed). Morphological properties were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) which confirmed uniform morphology of nanofiber membranes. Thermal degradation analysis was done using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Mechanical properties were also improved significantly in case of solution crosslinked PVA nanofibers. X-Ray diffraction results showed that crystallinity was also increased when nanofibers were crosslinked using solution method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed to check bonding of hydroxyl group in the result of crosslinking and it was confirmed that more hydroxyl groups were bound in case of solution crosslinked PVA nanofibers. Adsorption capacity for copper and lead ions was measured using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) atomic emission spectrometer and it was concluded from adsorption data that solution crosslinked PVA nanofibers were far efficient as compared to that of uncrosslinked and vapor crosslinked nanofibers. Equilibrium time was decreased significantly which gives credibility of process with efficient removal of metal ions in shorter time.